Tesco closing four Scots stores employing 326 people

GARETH MACKIE

Four Scottish stores, employing more than 300 people, are among 43 loss-making branches to be closed by Tesco, the supermarket giant said today.

The group is shutting its Homeplus household and electrical goods store at Fort Kinnaird in Edinburgh, along with a Metro outlet in Grangemouth, a Kirkcaldy superstore and an Express branch in Troon.

A spokesman said the Kirkcaldy superstore employs 189 people, while the Edinburgh Homeplus has 55 staff and the Grangemouth Metro employs 68. The closure of the Troon Express will affect 14 people.

The Edinburgh and Troon stores will close on 15 March, with the Grangemouth and Kirkcaldy stores closing on 4 April.

Tesco said that 2,000 staff in total will be affected by the 43 closures and that it will begin consultations with those workers.

Chief executive Dave Lewis announced the closure plan earlier this month as part of wider measures designed to revive the group’s fortunes in the wake of a disastrous 2014.

He said: “I announced that our performance as a business has fallen significantly short of where we would want it to be and that to protect the future of the business in the UK we would close 43 unprofitable stores.

“The decision to close the stores has been exceptionally difficult to take. I recognise it will affect many hard-working colleagues, our customers and local communities.”

Lewis added: “Our priority is to explain what this announcement means for our colleagues and wherever possible, offer them alternative roles with Tesco. We will continue to serve our customers through other local stores and our dotcom service.”

Pauline Foulkes, national officer at the shop workers’ union Usdaw, said: “This is devastating news for over 2,000 dedicated staff in the 43 Tesco stores across the UK, who have worked hard to make their shop viable during a difficult time for the company.

“We will now enter into full and meaningful consultation meetings on this proposal, where we will look closely at the company’s business case for the closures. Our priority is to maximise employment within Tesco, seek redeployment opportunities for members, where possible, and to keep job losses to a minimum.

“We will support, advise and represent our members throughout this difficult period of uncertainty.”